


Instagram Adventures

by Hils



Series: The Adventures of Tater's Pet Hedgie [2]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Friendship, M/M, tater's pet hedgie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-19
Updated: 2017-02-19
Packaged: 2018-09-25 15:28:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9826448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hils/pseuds/Hils
Summary: Tater introduces Jack to the world of social media. Bitty is very proud of his boyfriend.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tiptoe39](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tiptoe39/gifts).



> Thanks to [tiptoe39](http://archiveofourown.org/users/tiptoe39/pseuds/tiptoe39) for the beta work an encouragement. This wouldn't exist without you.

As soon as he collapses into his seat on the bus Jack closes his eyes and tries to sleep. Last night’s game had been a tough one, and although they’d managed to get a win in overtime, he knew they could do better. When he’d finally got back to the hotel after the game, sore and exhausted, he’d spent half of his Skype call with Bitty running through different plays the team could make, with contributions from Lardo who had been walking past and had stopped to offer her own opinions. 

So it had been late when Jack had eventually gone to bed and he definitely hadn’t got enough sleep, but his head had been clearer, and the few hours’ sleep he’d got had been restful. It was amazing what even a short conversation with Bitty could do. And it’s not just Jack who’s more relaxed: the change in Bitty since they told the Haus about their relationship has been subtle but noticeable to Jack. Jack hadn't even noticed the tension Bitty had been carrying in his shoulders, but he can see now that it's melted away. Bitty doesn’t have to lock himself in his room whenever Jack calls. He’s relaxed, happy, and back to being the Bitty that Jack had fallen in love with. Things are good. 

“Zimmboni.” Jack is jolted from his thoughts, and attempts to sleep, when Tater flings himself into the seat beside him. “Zimmboni, you need to see!”

Jack opens his eyes and is immediately blinded by the glare of Tater’s phone screen. He curses under his breath in French and blinks a couple of times until he can focus on what’s on the screen. Even when he can see, it takes a moment for him to register what he’s looking at. 

It’s clearly Tater’s kitchen. Jack’s been to Tater’s house enough times now that he recognises it easily. He also recognises Kolyuchki, who is bigger than he was the first time Jack met him. He’s pushing something around on the floor, and Jack brings the phone screen closer to his face so he can see what it is. 

“It that...a puck?”

“Yes!” Tater beams at Jack. “Is toy puck, not real. Real one too heavy for him, I think. But I get for him to play with. He not interested at first but now he love. He play with it all the time! Favourite game is to push it around kitchen.”

The [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjTHijIMmuk&feature=youtu.be) is on a loop, and the second time it plays Jack is alert enough to watch it properly. It’s pretty cute, and he can’t help but smile. Bitty would love it. 

“Hey, Tater, can you send this to me? I have a friend who would love it.”

“Is on Instagram, Jack. Should follow me, then can see all photos and videos.”

Instagram is at least one Jack has heard of. Shitty and Lardo were trying to talk him into getting one for his photos back when Jack was still living in the Haus, but he’d just never got around to it. Maybe he should. Georgia has been gently suggesting for a while that he get involved in some sort of social media, and Instagram is probably the most harmless of what’s available.

The problem, is he has no idea how to use it. He’d only caved in and got an iPhone when his old one had finally died and the clerk in the store had pointed out that even the most basic phones were smartphones these days. He knows how to call people and how to text, and Bitty had downloaded the Skype app for him. He reluctantly set up his email but still prefers to call, text or Skype. And that’s about it. He doesn’t have any other apps on his phone. 

His confusion must be showing on his face, because Tater extends his hand. 

“Give me phone. I’m help you.”

Jack freezes. There’s texts from Bitty on his phone. Photos, too. Nothing too intimate, because both of them worried about something getting out if Jack’s phone is lost, stolen or even hacked. But there’s enough on there that Tater, knowing Jack the way he does, would probably be able to figure things out. Not for the first time, Jack thinks maybe he should come out to Tater. They’re friends. It’s nice that Georgia and Marty know, and have his back, but it’d be nice to have a friend know so they can talk about the day-to-day stuff that the other guys do. He’ll have to talk to Bitty about it first.

“Is okay,” Tater says gently, and Jack realises he’s still waiting for Jack’s phone. “I’m show you instead.”

Jack really doesn’t know what he did to deserve Tater’s patience, understanding and friendship. 

Tater shows him how to download the app. The hardest thing proves to be finding a username that hasn’t already been taken. JackZimmerman, Zimmerman1, Zimms1, even Zimmboni and Zimmboni1 are already use. 

“I don’t understand why so many people are using versions of my name,” Jack huffs when JZimms1 is also taken. 

Tater shrugs. “Is how people show they fans.”

Even with hours of coaching from Bitty and Georgia, Jack doesn’t think he’ll ever really understand the internet, and he’s not sure he wants to. 

Finally they are able to get him set up as JZimm1Official, which is a bit more clunky than Jack would have liked, but they were running out of options. Tater makes sure Jack is following him on Instagram, and follows him back before making Jack watch the video of Kolyuchki playing with the puck again. 

“He best at play hockey,” Tater says with a proud smile after the video has looped a couple more times. 

“Maybe he should take your place on the team then, eh?”

The words are barely out of his mouth when he realises what he’s said, and instantly that nervous feeling in his stomach is back. It’s pretty weak as far as chirps go, but chirping his teammates isn’t something he does. He gets on well with them, smiles indulgently when they chirp him, but he never does it to them. He still remembers how long it had been before he’d been comfortable chirping the guys at Samwell. There had always been a voice in the back of his head telling him that if he said anything mean, even as a joke, that everyone would think he was a dick and no one would talk to him again. Eventually Shitty had sat him down and told him that no one would respect him if he didn’t give them some shit once in a while. Even after that, he still only felt comfortable chirping Shitty and a few of the guys he’d known the longest.

He’s nowhere near that level of comfort with the Falcs yet, and that voice is back at full volume, telling him he’s crossed the line with Tater and ruined their friendship forever. 

“Zimmboni,” Tater gasps in shock and Jack braces himself for the inevitable harsh words that are going to follow. 

Instead he finds himself suddenly wrapped in an awkwardly angled hug as Tater half pulls Jack out of his seat.

“You chirp me! I so proud! This best day!”

As Tater starts pretending to weep tears of joy, all Jack can do is sit there, almost in Tater’s lap, and pet his arm gently. He’s relieved and confused, but mostly relieved. He should be used to how weird his friends are by now, but this is still something that takes him by surprise. 

When Tater finally releases Jack, he ruffles his hair and settles back in his seat before closing his eyes. “Should sleep, Zimmboni. Long day.”

Jack can’t argue with that.

***

“Wait, so Tater trained his hedgehog to play hockey and you _chirped_ him for it? Oh, honey, I love you so much.”

Jack feels his face flush, but it’s that warm, happy feeling he gets whenever Bitty tells Jack that he loves him.

“It just slipped out,” Jack replies, smiling fondly at Bitty’s sleepy face on his computer screen. There are times, like tonight, that he hates the physical distance between them. He’d give anything to be lying beside Bitty right now, to be able to run his fingers over his face, through his hair, to hold him as they fall asleep together. 

“Hey, what do you think Tater’s favourite kind of pie is? Or I could look up some Russian recipes. Lord, he must be lonely being so far away from his family.”

“You just want to play with the hedgehog, don’t you?” Jack teases gently.

“No!” Bitty protests and then grins sheepishly. “Well, yes. Jack, he’s so cute! But I want to bake for Tater too. He’s your friend and he doesn’t have any family close by. I’d bake for him even without the adorable hockey-playing hedgehog.”

And Jack knows that’s true. It’s one of the many, many, reasons he loves Eric Bittle. 

“Honey, you should get some sleep,” Bitty chides gently. “You look exhausted.”

He is, and he knows he should, but these calls never seem to be long enough. 

“Just a few more minutes,” Jack says. “I need to hear the rest of the story about the stolen cookie recipe.”

“Lord, Jack, your coaches will have my head if they know I kept you up this late. Get some sleep and I’ll call you tomorrow, okay? I promise I’ll finish the story before I tell you anything else.”

Bitty’s got his stern face on, or as close to stern as Bitty can manage. It’s actually pretty adorable.

“Okay,” Jack concedes. “Good night. I love you.”

“I love you too, sweetheart.”

The words echo in Jack’s mind as he closes his eyes and finally allows himself to drift off, a smile on his face. 

***

**Mashkov7Tater** колючки full grown now. Favourite thing is still play with puck  
 **JZimm1Official** Coach says he can come in on Monday for a tryout  
 **Mashkov7Tater** @JZimm1Official haha you so funny Zimmboni  
 **JZimm1Official** @Mashkov7Tater Have you noticed more people like the photos of kolyuchki than the photos of you? Maybe he should get his own account  
 **Mashkov7Tater** @JZimm1Official Zimmboni that hurt!

**KolyuchkiMashkov** joined Instagram  
 **KolyuchkiMashkov** started following you


End file.
